Can I improve GCSE Grades?
Hi! I’m a former Y10 going into Y11 this September, and after recent disappointment from my Y10 end of year exams I’m really trying to buckle down and get higher grades. In my end of year exams I got 3 9s 6 8s and three 7s which in hindsight isnt *too* bad but I was really going for eight plus 9s and minimal 8s. I’d really like to apply to Cambridge after college and I know I need more 9s, so I was wondering if it was realistic for me to be aiming for all 9s? I’m using this summer wisely too, revising and doing past papers etc and I got a math tutor too. I know it sounds kinda silly, but just wondering 
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Yes, those grades means you can realistically aim for all 9s. And depending on the harshness of your school's own exams, you might find the actual GCSEs easier so those 6 8s would actually be 9s.
Original post by cleveranimal56
Yes, those grades means you can realistically aim for all 9s. And depending on the harshness of your school's own exams, you might find the actual GCSEs easier so those 6 8s would actually be 9s.
Yeah haha. I was sorta doubting some of the grade boundaries because all science boundaries were 90%+ and we were doing last years past papers and I def know the grade boundaries werent so high etc! Also if you’ve done GCSE’s, sorry if this is a bit intrusive but what did you find best for revision/what would you recommend doing to improve? Xx
You’ve done brilliantly! You shouldn’t feel worried at all since you’ve already gotten such great grades and clearly have the motivation to achieve all 9’s. I’m sure you’ll get there (: (btw those science boundaries are whack, I got a 9 in my science mock with an 85% or something in that range)
Original post by economistgirl
Yeah haha. I was sorta doubting some of the grade boundaries because all science boundaries were 90%+ and we were doing last years past papers and I def know the grade boundaries werent so high etc! Also if you’ve done GCSE’s, sorry if this is a bit intrusive but what did you find best for revision/what would you recommend doing to improve? Xx
You won;t have covered the content to get 9s - Cambridge doesn't really consider GCSE grades as much as A level predictions.
Btw, what did you mean by 'last years papers' - November 2020?
Original post by Muttley79
You won;t have covered the content to get 9s - Cambridge doesn't really consider GCSE grades as much as A level predictions.
Btw, what did you mean by 'last years papers' - November 2020?
Btw, what did you mean by 'last years papers' - November 2020?
Yeah I meant 2020 sorry! My bad, just got mixed up
Original post by Muttley79
You won;t have covered the content to get 9s - Cambridge doesn't really consider GCSE grades as much as A level predictions.
Btw, what did you mean by 'last years papers' - November 2020?
Btw, what did you mean by 'last years papers' - November 2020?
Also I know we haven’t covered all the content; which is why I’m revising on my own lol but I’m going to keep this up through the year xx
Original post by Leigh_0001
You’ve done brilliantly! You shouldn’t feel worried at all since you’ve already gotten such great grades and clearly have the motivation to achieve all 9’s. I’m sure you’ll get there (: (btw those science boundaries are whack, I got a 9 in my science mock with an 85% or something in that range)
Thanks! Are you going into Y11 too? How did you find your end of your exams?
Original post by economistgirl
Yeah I meant 2020 sorry! My bad, just got mixed up
These weren't typical - how much content have you covered? Go through the specifications to see how much ...
Original post by Muttley79
These weren't typical - how much content have you covered? Go through the specifications to see how much ...
In most of my subjects, around half but I’m a bit worried about chemistry… we’ve only covered around 1/3 of the content
Yeah dw. Universities also don't differentiate between 8s and 9s, so even those end of year grades are should fine for Cambridge.
Honestly chem content should be fine, as long as you are fairly clever which you seem to be, you can get through it cf. something like biology which is harder work to get through all the content.
Honestly chem content should be fine, as long as you are fairly clever which you seem to be, you can get through it cf. something like biology which is harder work to get through all the content.
Original post by DeBeauvoir2
Yeah dw. Universities also don't differentiate between 8s and 9s, so even those end of year grades are should fine for Cambridge.
Honestly chem content should be fine, as long as you are fairly clever which you seem to be, you can get through it cf. something like biology which is harder work to get through all the content.
Honestly chem content should be fine, as long as you are fairly clever which you seem to be, you can get through it cf. something like biology which is harder work to get through all the content.
Haha funny you say this - biology is my best science and the one I find the easiest lol! Chemistry I’m worried, especially the quantitive chemistry. How did you find that/how did you revise for that? X
Original post by DeBeauvoir2
Yeah dw. Universities also don't differentiate between 8s and 9s, so even those end of year grades are should fine for Cambridge.
Honestly chem content should be fine, as long as you are fairly clever which you seem to be, you can get through it cf. something like biology which is harder work to get through all the content.
Honestly chem content should be fine, as long as you are fairly clever which you seem to be, you can get through it cf. something like biology which is harder work to get through all the content.
Also, I’ve heard a lot about unis not differing between 8s/9s but I found it quite confusing how did you find out about this? I’m not doubting you I promise lol, just confused
Original post by economistgirl
Haha funny you say this - biology is my best science and the one I find the easiest lol! Chemistry I’m worried, especially the quantitive chemistry. How did you find that/how did you revise for that? X
Ah well each to their own. I could do it but found it so boring.
hmm that's stuff like moles right? The maths is fine I think you probably just need to make sure you understand the concepts of it, so would recommend youtube videos/asking teachers or fellow students to explain it. Once you understand that you can do all the questions with little trouble.
Original post by economistgirl
Also, I’ve heard a lot about unis not differing between 8s/9s but I found it quite confusing how did you find out about this? I’m not doubting you I promise lol, just confused
8 and 9 are both A* ... just look on the uni website
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/entrance-requirements
"There are no GCSE (or equivalent) requirements for entry to Cambridge. GCSE results are looked at as a performance indicator, but within the context of the performance of the school/college where they were achieved.
Applicants have generally achieved high grades in subjects relevant to their chosen course, and most students who apply have at least four or five 7/8/9s at GCSE (an A is considered equivalent to 7 and an A* is considered equivalent to 8/9). However, there are always exceptions and we don’t require a minimum number of 7/8/9s at GCSE. One of the strengths of the Cambridge admissions system is its ability to assess all applicants individually.
Our research shows that post-16 examination performance is a much better predictor of degree success at Cambridge. While GCSE results are looked at as a performance indicator, this is within the context of the performance of the school/college where they were attained, and strong performance in Years 12 and 13 can make up for a less stellar performance at GCSE."
Original post by economistgirl
In most of my subjects, around half but I’m a bit worried about chemistry… we’ve only covered around 1/3 of the content
For chemistry my teacher is not the best I guess I could say, and I used seneca learning to teach myself the first half of the content and managed to pull my grade up from a 4 to a 7 so try seneca if you want to try to teach yourself some of the course, it doesn't work for everyone but it was a lifesaver for me so I'd deffo give it a go
Original post by economistgirl
Haha funny you say this - biology is my best science and the one I find the easiest lol! Chemistry I’m worried, especially the quantitive chemistry. How did you find that/how did you revise for that? X
Ik you're not asking me (lmao) but I used flashcards to memorise all the equations as the majority of chem equations are in that unit I'm pretty sure, and then just go over practice questions again and again until you're happy with it, and there are loads of explanations on YouTube aswell. Hope this helps
Original post by thrivingfrog
Ik you're not asking me (lmao) but I used flashcards to memorise all the equations as the majority of chem equations are in that unit I'm pretty sure, and then just go over practice questions again and again until you're happy with it, and there are loads of explanations on YouTube aswell. Hope this helps
Thank you!
Of course you have chance to improve your grades (although they are pretty good enough as they are )
Going by what my eldest did, she made a revision timetable in the summer for the mocks, then after christmas did one for the summer.
But as to how you revise is up to you. Some do half an hour on each topic at a time, where as others find it easier to blam biology for 2 hours straight. Others do mind maps, where as my youngest who is getting gcse results this year did notes and refined them and did acronyms to learn specific things. One thing though that the both did was take breaks, that's very important, and have a night off as well and treat yourself.
As for Chemistry, primrose kitten is a good you tuber https://www.youtube.com/c/PrimroseKittenScience/playlists
)Going by what my eldest did, she made a revision timetable in the summer for the mocks, then after christmas did one for the summer.
But as to how you revise is up to you. Some do half an hour on each topic at a time, where as others find it easier to blam biology for 2 hours straight. Others do mind maps, where as my youngest who is getting gcse results this year did notes and refined them and did acronyms to learn specific things. One thing though that the both did was take breaks, that's very important, and have a night off as well and treat yourself.
As for Chemistry, primrose kitten is a good you tuber https://www.youtube.com/c/PrimroseKittenScience/playlists
Original post by 𝓖𝓱𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓵𝓪𝓭𝔂
Of course you have chance to improve your grades (although they are pretty good enough as they are )
Going by what my eldest did, she made a revision timetable in the summer for the mocks, then after christmas did one for the summer.
But as to how you revise is up to you. Some do half an hour on each topic at a time, where as others find it easier to blam biology for 2 hours straight. Others do mind maps, where as my youngest who is getting gcse results this year did notes and refined them and did acronyms to learn specific things. One thing though that the both did was take breaks, that's very important, and have a night off as well and treat yourself.
As for Chemistry, primrose kitten is a good you tuber https://www.youtube.com/c/PrimroseKittenScience/playlists
)Going by what my eldest did, she made a revision timetable in the summer for the mocks, then after christmas did one for the summer.
But as to how you revise is up to you. Some do half an hour on each topic at a time, where as others find it easier to blam biology for 2 hours straight. Others do mind maps, where as my youngest who is getting gcse results this year did notes and refined them and did acronyms to learn specific things. One thing though that the both did was take breaks, that's very important, and have a night off as well and treat yourself.
As for Chemistry, primrose kitten is a good you tuber https://www.youtube.com/c/PrimroseKittenScience/playlists
thank you so much - lifesaver!!
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